Posts tagged “Occupy”

On October 17th, people calling themselves “New York Anarchists” claim to have sabotaged railroad tracks leading into and out of New York City.

According to WSQT “Direct Action Radio”, the action was in “retaliation” for the jailing of three people in Seattle “for refusing to snitch on Occupy activists and/or anarchists” who were “opposing the very corporations these railroads serve”. The three people in question were called before a grand jury and given a grant of immunity from prosecution, but refused to testify and were charged with civil contempt of court. One has been released yesterday, the two others are still in jail.

WSQT phrased this action as “yet another of a long line of punitive strikes against corporate capitalism in retaliation for the grand jury” They stated that the “warriors who carried out this mission” posted the following communique on Anarchist News.

To our comrades enduring repression in the Northwest, you are not alone. In the early morning hours of October 17th, we sabotaged the operation of three sets of train tracks leading in and out of New York City. This action was undertaken in solidarity with Leah-Lynn Plante, Matthew Kyle Duran, Katherine Olejnik, and all of our other comrades in the Northwest. To those who are staying strong in these trying times, may this action be an expression of our deepest love. To those who seek to put them in cages, may this action be an expression of our deepest hatred.
DEATH TO CAPITAL
DEATH TO THE STATE
LONG LIVE ANARCHY

– New York Anarchists

It is not clear what this alleged “sabotage” is supposed to have involved and Citizen Journalist has not been able to confirm that anything actually took place. If anything was done, it apparently wasn’t sufficient to even make media. On September 17th, the anniversary of OWS, anarchists claim to have tied a copper wire from one track to another, disrupting a switch relay, and incapacitating a track north of new York City. That also has not been confirmed.

After the latest Occupy vandalism march on October 8th, it looks like some may just be fed up.

This flyer was apparently being distributed in Oakland.

Speculation among Occupy Oakland participants is rampant as to who might be behind the flyer, everything from aggrieved community member to a COINTELPRO plot by police.

But the most common guess is unhappy Occupy member.

Schisms have exploded over the past week between various elements of Occupy Oakland, with elements threatening each other, saying things like “we will hunt you down” and “no love all bullets and body bags”. See more here. Within the schism is an undercurrent of race, with disturbance being expressed by people of color over the “white” nature of such groups as the Oakland Commune.

The flyer itself doesn’t read as though it were a mere aggrieved citizen.

– it cites the date of October 25th. That is the day when Occupy is planning a big action and a possible re-occupation, something the normal citizen probably wouldn’t know.

– it appears to be calling on Occupy to “beat the shit out of anarchists”.

– it also claims to be from “DOOM” (Defend our Oakland Movement). Could mean just defend Oakland, or alternatively, defend our Oakland Movement(indicating involvement).

– it has a clear grievance against the “caucasian” nature of Occupy anarchists, echoing some of the underlying issues expressed in the schism talk.

Whoever it is, one would hope that this doesn’t indicate a ratcheting up of the violence in Oakland.

Members of Occupy Portland and others were part of a group of around 50 people who damaged several businesses including 4 banks and a Walgreens in SE Portland on Thursday.

After arranging the action on Facebook, the group met at 8:30 pm at SE 35th & Taylor and shortly thereafter, began throwing rocks and smashing windows of businesses. Police began receiving calls, including that bottles were being thrown as people, according to NWCN, who also interviewed one man who was nearly hit in the head by an object.

Wells Fargo, Umpqua, Chase and US Bank all had their windows broken. The Walgreen’s store on Southeast Cesar Chavez Boulevard and Southeast Belmont Street also was vandalized. It was reported that the vandals also walked into traffic and blocked vehicles.

According to KATU, Virginia Suftin said she saw about 50 people headed her way. “I heard the noise and the glass shattering as I was walking to my apartment,” she said. “and they threw a rock right at the bank. They had a huge banner that said ‘no prisons, hug cats? And a bunch were wearing ski masks,” Suftin recalled. An anarchist report indicates the banner read: “BURN THE PRISONS, HUG CATS. YOLO (A) ACAB”. ACAB means “All Cops are Bastards”. According to the same report, they pulled news paper boxes and other items into the streets to block being followed and chanted “GIVE NO F–KS TAKE NO ORDERS, SMASH THE PRISONS AND THE BORDER!” Here is another account by an Occupier who “observed” the march

By the time police arrived, most of the people had dispersed. No arrests have been made, police said.

Here is video made by BareItorBearIt of some of the damage. The video also notes how this action was advertised on the Occupy Portland Facebook and notes who said they would be attending. Citizen Journalist has confirmed that in fact it was indeed advertised, and is still in fact up on their Facebook, although the names of those attending appear now to have been erased.

Despite this, Occupy disavowed the action, telling KATU that the event was not sanctioned, organized or affiliated with them. “The action last night was not an Occupy Portland action or march” a spokesperson said.

This particular action was reportedly in response to the jailing of three people for refusing to testify in response to grand jury subpoenas, despite being granted immunity from prosecution. Since a grand jury, by its very nature, is secret to protect the integrity of pending investigations, it is not clear what information is being sought from these three. Supporters of those jailed contend the three are being held purely for their anarchist views. This was disputed by a spokesperson for the US Attorney’s Office, Emily Langlie, stating people were not being investigated for political views. She also noted that grand juries can consider many cases, not just one, and that she cannot comment on the ongoing investigations.

What was that fundraiser for? Was it for money for the poor? Helping someone save their home from foreclosure?

It was to send two Occupy members to the Cayman Islands.

Yes, that’s right. Send them to the Cayman Islands.

Well, what are they being sent to the Cayman Islands for? Negin Farsad and Lee Camp, two Occupy comedians are being sent there to “report on the infamous tax havens that Mitt Romney and other millionaires use”. They are also accompanied by Justin Wedes, a spokesperson for Occupy Wall St, who is the main voice @OccupyWallStNYC. It is unclear who is paying for him to be there.

Let’s look at some of the wonderful things they have discovered in the Cayman Islands so far:

Last night, Bay Area Occupiers from San Francisco, Oakland and surrounding environs held a “Hoodies & Hijabs” anti imperialist anti war march on the 11th anniversary of the start of the war in Afghanistan. The march was billed as being organized by “Afghans for Peace”. As we noted in our prior article, after a few minutes of brief speeches at Frank Ogawa Plaza, they then spent under an hour smashing and vandalizing businesses, homes and cars in the downtown area. There were no arrests. More on the story here.

An old SDS (Students For a Democratic Society) poster that read, “Bring the war home” was used as a propaganda tool online.

Here is a post from Anarchist News from an anarchist who participated in this action:

The only tears tonight will be for the countless lives that have been stolen.

Comrades when I looked into your eyes this weekend I saw a little bit of your pain fade. Somewhere in between the celebratory feminist vigilante march and the little pieces of civilization that were layed to rest on the ground as the hammers were swung at who knows how many parasitic shops tonight I found something.

Joyful violence against the state is the sanity to the everyday misery.

A misery so deep and so widespread. Countless lives contained, controlled, reduced, stolen, and destroyed by civilization, colonialism, patriarchy, and capitalism. 11 years of war in Afghanistan, hundreds of years of colonization and my entire life of being socialized, categorized, identified…

Tonight was an intimate experience with the direct confrontation between what is wild and what is the negation of life. It was a little release from the choke of politics, of representation, and order. It’s a peek into a proper response to what we face as contained life.

Our symbiotic relationship between each other, our kenesis, chaos, and our ebb and flow outran the law. Our bodies are equipped with joy and it may be our most valuable weapon when under attack. In this most impersonal world where one can fly a drone and drop a bomb killing untold amounts of life, our intimate bonds of life—our animal nature unleashes. Of course The Oakland Scientific Facility got some of our rage.

Yesterday the state took 25 friends away from us. The destruction tonight was in part our response—the struggle continues. Whether staffing the legal call-in center, covering imprisoned friends work shifts, smashing police recruitment stations, raising bail, or etch bathing the Community Policing Centre in East Vancouver we take care of one another. Every day agents of the state take people away and imprison them, and while 25 of our friends were nabbed, about 35,948 other people were arrested and carted off to jail yesterday.

It didn’t start with Chase Bank and it doesn’t end with City Hall or the Police recruitment station. It all must go, every last vestige of this wretched earth, and it is always a violent phenomenon.

An incomplete list of some of the attacks:
The last big window of the old Obama office on telegraph (The office has since moved because Oakland is to real for ‘em)
The disgusting new Chase bank on 14th and Broadway
The whole side of California Bank.
Bank of the West
Some ATM’s here and there
Some condos here and there
Sears
Oakland Tribune
Kaiser Permanente Office
AC Transit
Rudys can’t fail
“Die yuppie scum” & “Gentry” were scrawled on some yuppie condos around 19th and Telegraph
OPD recruitment station
Oakland City Hall
Several BMW’s and some other posh cars
The Oakland Scientific Facility, which houses computers and data storage for Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory.

With love and dedication,

for myself
for the silent ones
for the revolutionary comrades behind bars
for the survivors and victims of US imperialism, colonialism, and war in Afghanistan, Palestine, and throughout the Muslim world.

Fight Genocide, Destroy what is civilized.

Here is video of the event. The video is edited by a participant live steamer, PFailblog, with faces deliberately blurred to make recognition difficult.

Last night was billed as an “Afghan led” anti imperialist anti war protest, “Hoodies and Hijabs” march, commemorating the start of the war in Afghanistan 11 years ago. They started out around 7 pm with a few speeches in front of city hall, but then went on an hour run of vandalizing businesses in Oakland. About 200 people marched through the downtown area smashing windows and throwing paint along the way. According to KGO 810 News, they broke large plate glass windows of three banks along Franklin Street. Six windows were attacked at the Chase Bank on Franklin. Doors and windows of the City Hall were damaged, as was the AC Transit office and the police recruiting office. The group also broke windows at the Oakland Tribune. KTVU noted several businesses were damaged including Kaiser Permanente and that cars were vandalized as well.

There were no arrests last night.

In a rambling statement posted on the Occupy Oakland website, the “Afghans for Peace” accuse US soldiers of atrocities and multiple instances of desecration of the ‘Holy Quran”. They also claim the military has “Kill teams”. They call for US soldiers to “go AWOL, refuse to fight and start a revolt amongst your ranks”. They closed their statement with “say no to all wars, except class war”.